Guilty. “Sort of. But it’s a surprise.”
“Go get him, Rowie.”
I snorted at the childhood nickname. “Goodnight.”
The next three days, I spent finalizing my idea with the help of Troy and several crucial people.
The big day has come, and the nerves twisted my stomach when I knocked on Milo’s door at nine on a Saturday.
“Come in. I’ll be ready in a minute.” He greeted me with a soft kiss on the cheek and whirled around, grabbing his phone and necessities.
We’d agreed to spend the day together, but I didn’t tell him about my plans for it. We got to my car in silence. Was I wrong about not telling him about what I had organized? I’d find out soon.
“So this is our goodbye day, right?” Milo was looking through the window when he said it.
Fuck. I was sweating.
“For now, can we think about today only?” Milo, my coffee bean, my heart, please bear with me. “We’re almost there.” I stopped in an empty parking lot and turned off the engine.
“We’re going to the town community center?” He frowned.
“Yes. Keep an open mind.” I walked around the car and took his hand.
“I will,” he said and didn’t hesitate to squeeze my fingers.
We climbed the old steps into the colonial building and toward the main hall. In the vastness of the empty space sat one table with promotional materials on it and a banner stretched overhead.
“I’ll explain everything.” I handed him a leaflet. “Let’s sit.”
“A Great-Grand-Parent Bake-Off?” He read and skimmed the bullet point details. “What is this?”
“Hear me out please. Everyone loves your cafe, but it needs a bit of a boost, right?”
“Yeah. And you left me all the instructions on how to apply for a grant and do all that.”
“Yes, but I wanted to see if something could be done sooner. The Happy Life Senior Home will have a baking workshop sponsored by local brands and supervised by bakers from the area. The seniors are excited to donate their skills and time to produce cakes, pies, and cupcakes, or other creations they come up with, and take part in the competition that will be hosted in this space.” I waved at the banner overhead. “Everyone is invited to come over, buy the goods, then vote for the best ones. All proceeds will go toward renovating the cafe roof and updating the kitchen, plus whatever else needs doing. Ethel was in on this, of course, and so was Sophia. They both loved the idea. Troy helped me with the sponsorship and Raina with organizational touches and social media promo ideas. It’s ready to go, but I need your approval first.” I held my breath, heart pounding. Milo would never ask for help, but the community jumped at the opportunity when I presented it.
Milo looked down at the leaflet, and a tear dropped on it.
I froze. Oh gods, I fucked up again.
He lifted his head and met my gaze with his watery eyes. “Why are you doing this?”
“I’m sorry if I overstepped. Everything is cancelable, no problem. It was a stupid idea. You can do all this by yourself, I know it. I was trying something out.” I shot to my feet and shoved the promotional material into a tote bag that matched the banner.
“Stop.” Milo grabbed my wrist and forced me to face him. “Just tell me why.”
I cupped his cheek, my stomach flip-flopping, my heart beating out of my chest. I could deflect and tell him that he deserved this help from a community that loved him and his cafe, or that it would make Ethel happy. But I was done with excuses.
“Because I love you.” I searched his face, getting ready for a reaction, whatever it may be.
“You do?” Surprise overtook his expression.
It shouldn’t. That meant that I hadn’t shown him my heart and what he means to me.
“So much.”
“Okay.” Milo plopped down on the chair and scanned the banner above our heads.
